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Toxicology Letters Sep 2018Sulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical warfare, which has been used for one hundred years. However, its exact pathomechanisms are still incompletely understood and there is... (Review)
Review
Sulfur mustard (SM) is a chemical warfare, which has been used for one hundred years. However, its exact pathomechanisms are still incompletely understood and there is no specific therapy available so far. In this systematic review, studies published between January 2000 and July 2017 involving pathomechanisms and experimental treatments of SM-induced skin lesions were analyzed to summarize current knowledge on SM pathology, to provide an overview on novel treatment options, and to identify promising targets for future research to more effectively counter SM effects. We suggest that future studies should focus on (I) systemic effects of SM intoxication due to its distribution throughout the body, (II) removal of SM depots that continuously release active compound contributing to chronic skin damage, and (III) therapeutic options that counteract the pleiotropic effects of SM.
Topics: Animals; Antidotes; Chemical Warfare Agents; Humans; Mustard Gas; Skin Diseases
PubMed: 29203275
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2017.11.039 -
Annals of the New York Academy of... Jun 2016Exposure to the vesicating agents sulfur mustard (SM) and nitrogen mustard (NM) causes severe skin injury with delayed blistering. Depending upon the dose and time of... (Review)
Review
Exposure to the vesicating agents sulfur mustard (SM) and nitrogen mustard (NM) causes severe skin injury with delayed blistering. Depending upon the dose and time of their exposure, edema and erythema develop into blisters, ulceration, necrosis, desquamation, and pigmentation changes, which persist weeks and even years after exposure. Research advances have generated data that have started to explain the probable mechanism of action of vesicant-induced skin toxicity; however, despite these advances, effective and targeted therapies are still deficient. This review highlights studies on two SM analogs, 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) and NM, and CEES- and NM-induced skin injury mouse models that have substantially added to the knowledge on the complex pathways involved in mustard vesicating agent-induced skin injury. Furthermore, employing these mouse models, studies under the National Institutes of Health Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats program have identified the flavanone silibinin as a novel therapeutic intervention with the potential to be developed as an effective countermeasure against skin injury following exposure to mustard vesicating agents.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Irritants; Models, Biological; Mustard Gas; Silybin; Silymarin; Skin
PubMed: 27326543
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13099 -
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in... Jun 2017The fast and effective neutralization of the mustard-gas simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) using a simple and portable continuous flow device is reported....
The fast and effective neutralization of the mustard-gas simulant 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES) using a simple and portable continuous flow device is reported. Neutralization takes place through a fully selective sulfoxidation by a stable source of hydrogen peroxide (alcoholic solution of urea-H O adduct/MeSO H freshly prepared). The reaction progress can be monitored with an in-line benchtop NMR spectrometer, allowing a real-time adjustment of reaction conditions. Inherent features of millireactors, that is, perfect control of mixing, heat and reaction time, allowed the neutralization of 25 g of pure CEES within 46 minutes in a 21.5 mL millireactor (t =3.9 minutes). This device, which relies on affordable and nontoxic reagents, fits into a suitcase, and can be deployed by police/military forces directly on the attack site.
Topics: Chemical Warfare Agents; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Mustard Gas; Oxidation-Reduction
PubMed: 28474395
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201702744 -
Annals of Plastic Surgery Oct 1987Based on a study of the literature and our own experience treating fisherman poisoned by mustard gas, this article outlines the clinical effects, and toxicological and...
Based on a study of the literature and our own experience treating fisherman poisoned by mustard gas, this article outlines the clinical effects, and toxicological and mutagenic properties of the agent. Mustards are very persistent chemical agents that easily penetrate clothing. Mustard gas usually causes clinical symptoms after the liquid penetrates the skin or the vapor is inhaled. Skin lesions are similar to first- or second-degree burns and usually heal spontaneously in 4 to 6 weeks. Eye symptoms are photophobia and reduced vision. Following inhalation of the agent, pulmonary edema and long-term dyspnea may be seen. As mustard gas is an alkylating substance, it is conceivable that the risk of developing cancer may be increased, as observed in people who were involved with the production of mustard gas and in animals exposed to the gas. Also, transient significantly increased sister chromatid exchange rates have been found in fishermen exposed to mustard gas. Patients exposed to mustard gas must be treated immediately after exposure. Treatment should consist of cleaning of the exposed skin and clothes with an antigas powder and water and soap. The skin lesions should be treated as burns. Eye lesions and respiratory problems should be treated symptomatically.
Topics: Eye Diseases; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Humans; Male; Mustard Compounds; Mustard Gas; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Sister Chromatid Exchange; Skin Diseases, Vesiculobullous
PubMed: 3318637
DOI: No ID Found -
Annals of the New York Academy of... Aug 2016Acute lung injury due to sulfur mustard (SM) inhalation causes the formation of airway fibrin casts that obstruct airways at multiple levels, leading to acute... (Review)
Review
Acute lung injury due to sulfur mustard (SM) inhalation causes the formation of airway fibrin casts that obstruct airways at multiple levels, leading to acute respiratory failure and death. These pathophysiological effects are seen in rodent models of acute SM vapor inhalation, as well as in human victims of acute SM inhalation. In rat models, the initial steps in activation of the coagulation system at extravascular sites depend on tissue factor (TF) expression by airway cells, especially in the microparticle fraction, and these effects can be inhibited by TF pathway inhibitor protein. Not only does the procoagulant environment of the acutely injured lung contribute to airway cast formation, but these lesions persist in airways because of the activation of multiple antifibrinolytic pathways, including plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, and α2-antiplasmin. Airway administration of tissue plasminogen activator can overwhelm these effects and save lives by preventing fibrin-dependent airway obstruction, gas-exchange abnormalities, and respiratory failure. In human survivors of SM inhalation, fibrotic processes, including bronchiolitis obliterans and interstitial fibrosis of the lung, are among the most disabling chronic lesions. Antifibrotic therapies may prove useful in preventing either or both of these forms of chronic lung damage.
Topics: Acute Lung Injury; Animals; Blood Coagulation; Fibrinolytic Agents; Humans; Inhalation Exposure; Mustard Gas
PubMed: 27384912
DOI: 10.1111/nyas.13130 -
The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics :... 2011
Topics: Animals; Chemical Warfare Agents; History, 20th Century; Humans; Mustard Gas; Oceans and Seas; Water Pollution, Chemical; World War II
PubMed: 21314791
DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2011.00546.x -
Critical Reviews in Toxicology May 2011Sulfur mustard (SM) and similar bifunctional agents have been used as chemical weapons for almost 100 years. Victims of high-dose exposure, both combatants and... (Review)
Review
Sulfur mustard (SM) and similar bifunctional agents have been used as chemical weapons for almost 100 years. Victims of high-dose exposure, both combatants and civilians, may die within hours or weeks, but low-dose exposure causes both acute injury to the eyes, skin, respiratory tract and other parts of the body, and chronic sequelae in these organs are often debilitating and have a serious impact on quality of life. Ever since they were first used in warfare in 1917, SM and other mustard agents have been the subjects of intensive research, and their chemistry, pharmacokinetics and mechanisms of toxic action are now fairly well understood. In the present article we review this knowledge and relate the molecular-biological basis of SM toxicity, as far as it has been elucidated, to the pathological effects on exposure victims.
Topics: Chemical Warfare Agents; Eye; Kinetics; Mustard Gas; Pharmacokinetics; Respiratory System; Skin
PubMed: 21329486
DOI: 10.3109/10408444.2010.541224 -
Biodegradation Feb 2013Thiodiglycol (TDG) is both the precursor for chemical synthesis of mustard gas and the product of mustard gas hydrolysis. TDG can also react with intermediates of...
Thiodiglycol (TDG) is both the precursor for chemical synthesis of mustard gas and the product of mustard gas hydrolysis. TDG can also react with intermediates of mustard gas degradation to form more toxic and/or persistent aggregates, or reverse the pathway of mustard gas degradation. The persistence of TDG have been observed in soils and in the groundwater at sites contaminated by mustard gas 60 years ago. The biotransformation of TDG has been demonstrated in three soils not previously exposed to the chemical. TDG biotransformation occurred via the oxidative pathway with an optimum rate at pH 8.25. In contrast with bacteria isolated from historically contaminated soil, which could degrade TDG individually, a consortium of three bacterial strains isolated from the soil never contaminated by mustard gas was able to grow on TDG in minimal medium and in hydrolysate derived from an historical mustard gas bomb. Exposure to TDG had little impacts on the soil microbial physiology or on community structure. Therefore, the persistency of TDG in soils historically contaminated by mustard gas might be attributed to the toxicity of mustard gas to microorganisms and the impact to soil chemistry during the hydrolysis. TDG biodegradation may form part of a remediation strategy for mustard gas contaminated sites, and may be enhanced by pH adjustment and aeration.
Topics: Bacteria; Biodegradation, Environmental; Biotransformation; Chemical Warfare Agents; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Hydrolysis; Mustard Gas; Oxidation-Reduction; Phylogeny; Soil Microbiology; Soil Pollutants; Sulfhydryl Compounds
PubMed: 22752796
DOI: 10.1007/s10532-012-9564-7 -
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach,... Sep 2022The rapid, discriminative, and portable detection of highly toxic chemical warfare agents is extremely important for response to public security emergencies but remains...
Ultrafine Silver Nanoparticle Encapsulated Porous Molecular Traps for Discriminative Photoelectrochemical Detection of Mustard Gas Simulants by Synergistic Size-Exclusion and Site-Specific Recognition.
The rapid, discriminative, and portable detection of highly toxic chemical warfare agents is extremely important for response to public security emergencies but remains a challenge. One plausible solution involves the integration of porous molecular traps onto a photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensor. Here, a fast and facile protocol is developed to fabricate sub-1 nm AgNPs encapsulated hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) nanocomposite materials through an in situ photoreduction and subsequent encapsulation process. Compared to traditional semiconductors and selected metal-organic frameworks (MOF) materials, these AgNPs@HOFs show significantly enhanced photocurrent. Most importantly, the portable PEC device based on AgNPs@HOF-101 can selectively recognize 13 different mustard gas simulants, including 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide (CEES), based on synergistic size-exclusion and specific recognition. The extremely low detection limit for CEES (15.8 nmol L ), reusability (at least 30 cycles), and long-term working stability (at least 30 d) of the portable PEC device warrant its use as a chemical warfare agents (CWAs) sensor in practical field settings. More broadly, this work indicates that integrating porous molecular traps onto PEC sensors offers a promising strategy to further develop portable devices for CWAs detection with both ultrahigh sensitivity and selectivity.
Topics: Chemical Warfare Agents; Metal Nanoparticles; Mustard Gas; Porosity; Silver
PubMed: 35790037
DOI: 10.1002/adma.202202287 -
Report on Carcinogens : Carcinogen... 2004
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Carcinogenicity Tests; Carcinogens; Cells, Cultured; Chemical Warfare Agents; Female; Government Regulation; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Insecta; Male; Mice; Models, Biological; Mustard Gas; Occupational Exposure; United States
PubMed: 21089912
DOI: No ID Found